Jerry Garcia; lead guitarist and vocalist with the Grateful Dead, throughout his career, he led the Dead through numerous changes, becoming one of the most famous figures in the history of rock & roll. Simultaneously, Garcia pursued an eclectic array of side projects, ranging from the bluegrass group Old & in the Way to his folky solo recordings. Garcia stayed active as a member of the Grateful Dead and as a solo performer until his death in 1995.
David Grisman is normally associated with the bluegrass wing of country music, but his music owes almost as much to jazz as it does to traditional American folk influences. Because he couldn't think of what to call his unique, highly intricate, harmonically advanced hybrid of acoustic bluegrass, folk, and jazz without leaning toward one idiom or another, he offhandedly decided to call it "dawg music" -- a name which, curiously enough, has stuck. A brilliant mandolinist, with roots deep in the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, Grisman's jazz sensibilities were strong enough to attract the admiration of the HCQ's Stephane Grappelli, who has toured and recorded with Grisman on occasion.
Grisman was already playing the piano, saxophone, and mandolin by the time he was a teenager, taking up the latter at age 16. While attending New York University in 1963, he began playing with the Even Dozen Jug Band, which at one time included Maria Muldaur and John Sebastian. In 1966, bluegrass bandleader Red Allen invited Grisman to join his Kentuckians, and the following year Grisman joined Peter Rowan in the progressive-minded Earth Opera, which blended folk, country, rock, pop, and jazz. After two albums, he moved to San Francisco and hooked up with Jerry Garcia, playing on the Grateful Dead's classic American Beauty. He went on to play in Garcia's bluegrass side project, Old & in the Way, along with Peter Rowan, who also reteamed with him in the loose all-star group Muleskinner. In 1974, Grisman co-founded the Great American String Band with Muleskinner fiddler Richard Greene, which first allowed him to explore the lengthy instrumental improvisations that would become his trademark.
Greene didn't stick around for too long, and in 1976 Grisman assembled a new group dubbed the David Grisman Quintet, which featured guitarist Tony Rice, fiddler Darol Anger, bassist Joe Carroll, and mandolinist/bassist Todd Phillips. The Quintet's self-titled debut was released in 1977 on Kaleidoscope and proved a seminal influence on the so-called "newgrass" or "new acoustic" movements, thanks to its progressive, jazz-fueled harmonies and improvisations. The follow-up, 1979's Hot Dawg, was Grisman's breakthrough album; it was released on A&M's jazz imprint, Horizon, and featured guest work by jazz violin legend Stephane Grappelli. By this time, there was already personnel turnover in the Quintet; mandolinist Mike Marshall joined up, and by the time Grisman moved to Warner and recorded Mondo Mando in 1981, bassist Rob Wasserman and violinist Mark O'Connor joined Rice, Anger, and Marshall. In all, Grisman recorded four albums for Warner over 1980-1983; 1982's Dawg Jazz/Dawg Grass was another notable outing with Grappelli that, true to its title, split its repertoire between swing and bluegrass.
By 1984, the original "dawg music" lineup had largely broken up, with most of the members moving on to productive solo and/or collaborative projects (Anger notably joined the Turtle Island String Quartet). Grisman played on a number of sessions in the meantime, including with jazz-minded banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck, who claimed Grisman as a major influence. In 1985, Grisman organized a new group with seasoned jazz musicians: bassist Jim Kerwin, guitarist Dimitri Vandellos, and drummer George Marsh, who backed him on a 1987 duet album with jazz violinist Svend Asmussen, Svingin' with Svend. The more traditional bluegrass outing Home Is Where the Heart Is followed in 1988, before Grisman formed his own Acoustic Disc label in 1990 and got much more prolific.
A steady stream of releases appeared on Acoustic Disc during the first half of the '90s, starting with Dawg '90, which debuted a new core group that included Kerwin, fiddler/drummer Joe Craven, and flutist Matt Eakle, as well as returning alum Mark O'Connor, guitarist John Carlini, and fiddler Matt Glaser. Other notable releases included a 1991 reteaming with Jerry Garcia and two albums of Tone Poems (i.e., duets with Tony Rice and Martin Taylor, respectively). Argentine guitarist Enrique Coria joined the lineup of Grisman, Kerwin, Craven, and Eakle for 1995's Latin-flavored Dawganova. Grisman entered another productive period in 1999, issuing several widely varied projects, and reconvened that quintet for 2002's Dawgnation. A collection of collaborations with other bluegrass musicians recorded over three decades, Life of Sorrow, was released in 2003 by Acoustic Disc, followed by New Shabbos Waltz, a collaboration with Andy Statman, in 2006, also on Acoustic Disc.
from http://www.allmusic.com
Take Me
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Close every window and bolt every door
The very moment that I heard your voice
I'd be in darkness no more
Take me, to your most barren desert
A thousand miles from the nearest sea
The very moment that I saw your smile
There's not any mountain too rugged to climb
No desert too barren to cross
Darling, if you would just show a sign
Of love, I could bear the load
Take me, to Siberia
In the coldest weather of the wintertime
It would be just like spring in California
To know your love was still mine
There's not any mountain too rugged to climb
No desert too barren to cross
Darling, if you would just show a sign
Of love, I could bear the load
Take me, to Siberia
In the coldest weather of the wintertime
It would be just like spring in California
To know your love would be mine
It would be just like spring in California
To know your love would be mine
The lyrics to "Take Me" by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman speak to the power of love and the willingness to do anything for it. The song expresses the desire to be with someone so deeply that the singer is willing to go to the darkest room, the most barren desert, or even Siberia in the coldest weather of winter just to be near their beloved. The lyrics convey the idea that love can conquer all obstacles - no mountain is too rugged to climb, no desert too barren to cross if it means being with the one they love.
The music itself is a combination of Garcia's folk and bluegrass influences and Grisman's jazz and swing background, creating a unique fusion sound. The melody is simple yet beautiful, with the acoustic guitars and mandolins taking center stage. Garcia and Grisman's vocals blend together seamlessly, creating a harmonious and emotional soundscape. The song's sentiment is universal and timeless, making it a classic piece of music that continues to resonate with audiences today.
Overall, "Take Me" is a powerful expression of the human desire for love and companionship, capturing the heart of listeners with its poetic lyrics and beautiful melody.
Line by Line Meaning
Take me, to your darkest room
I want you to take me to the place in your life where you are most vulnerable and share your deepest thoughts and feelings with me.
Close every window and bolt every door
I want you to feel safe and secure with me by sealing off any external noise or distractions.
The very moment that I heard your voice
I knew that you were the missing piece in my life that I have been searching for.
I'd be in darkness no more
Your voice and presence alone brings light and hope into my life.
Take me, to your most barren desert
I want to be with you even in the most challenging times that life may throw our way.
A thousand miles from the nearest sea
Even in the most isolated and difficult places, I want to be with you.
The very moment that I saw your smile
Your beautiful smile warms my heart and makes everything in life worth it.
It'd be like heaven to me
Being with you and receiving your love is the greatest joy and blessing I could ever imagine.
There's not any mountain too rugged to climb
No matter how difficult the obstacles are in our lives, I am willing to face them if it means being with you.
No desert too barren to cross
I am willing to go through any hardship if it means being able to be with you.
Darling, if you would just show a sign
If you could just give me a sign that you love me, that would give me the strength to overcome any hardship.
Of love, I could bear the load
Love is what gives me the strength to carry on and overcome any obstacle.
Take me, to Siberia
No matter how extreme the conditions are, I want to be with you.
In the coldest weather of the wintertime
Even in the most harsh and bitter conditions, I want to be with you.
To know your love was still mine
Knowing that you still love me is the only thing that matters and it makes everything else bearable.
It would be just like spring in California
Even in the coldest, harshest conditions, being with you makes me feel like I'm in a beautiful, warm spring.
To know your love would be mine
Being with you and receiving your love is the greatest gift and blessing I could ever ask for.
Lyrics © SANLAR PUBLISHING
Written by: DEREK JONES, KEVIN TURNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind